The Warriors were thrilled when they achieved the offseason coup that landed Andre Iguodala in a sign-and-trade deal and no one was happier about the acquisition than Klay Thompson.

The shooting guard is the only Warrior who played in all 82 regular-season and 12 postseason games last season and he spent the majority of those games running the NBA equivalent of a marathon.

As the team's best perimeter defender at 6-foot-7 Thompson often was tasked with chasing the opponent's top guard all over one end of the court. At the other end he would dart and cut off a variety of screens to get open looks on offense.

"It is a relief" Thompson said from the Warriors' downtown Oakland facility Wednesday. "Going up against the best guy every night was fun but now I can focus on exerting just as much energy on the offensive end as I was on the defensive end.

"Last year when I was busting my tail to chase Tony Parker around a triple screen and then tried to do the same thing on the offensive end it got tiring. I'm not going to lie" Thompson said. "But this year we have so much balance and so much depth that you can play your hardest and get a blow without there being a drop-off."

Iguodala (6-6 207) is one of the league's elite defenders and most often will be assigned to cover the opponent's top offensive guard. That should free up Thompson to defend the second-best scoring threat and leave a little more in his tank on offense.